Doing our bit to make use of the apple avalanche

ON Friday, the Western Morning News reported on a looming crisis for the cider producers of the Westcountry. They have been hit by a huge drop in demand due to the cancellation of outdoor summer festivals and weeks of lockdown, dramatically reducing pub and restaurant visits.

Most of the fruit from my little orchard goes to a local cidermaker, coming back as a mixture of cider and juice. But I fear that this year they may be less keen to take it than previously. For one thing they have hugely increased their own orchards, reducing reliance on apples from other sources. And the pandemic and its effect on the hospitality industry will have hit them just as hard as it has everyone else.

That’s one reason I and a neighbour – who has his own 50-tree fledging orchard – decided to dip our toes into a bit of amateur cider-making this year to see if we can at least make enough of decent quality to satisfy family and friends.

We’ve had a morning collecting apples and plan another, with the storms of the last few days adding hugely to the number of windfalls. We’ve booked to hire a mill and press with the excellent organisation, Orchard Link, and we’re hoping for a bit of help from one of their experts to help us make the most of the raw materials we have gathered.

I’ve been studying the wonderful book, Ciderland, by friend and fellow journalist and writer James Crowden, which tells the inspirational stories of some of the Westcountry’s top cidermakers.

This year has seen a bumper crop of apples and in many parts of the region they’ll be rotting on the orchard floor. We’re determined not to let that happen here. I’ll keep you posted.